SOUNDGARDEN broke up in 1997 after five albums, but rumors started swirling early last year about a reunion, with one source telling The Pulse of Radio directly that negotiations were underway.
Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron did stage a partial reunion at a March 2009 Tom Morello show in Seattle, playing a handful of SOUNDGARDEN songs with Tad Doyle singing.
Cornell had been touring in support of his 2008 Timbaland-produced solo album, “Scream”, which has bitterly divided fans over its urban pop sound.
Soundgarden was one of the key archetypes in the creation of grunge, a style of alternative rock that developed in Seattle and was based around the band’s record label Sub Pop. Soundgarden was the first grunge band to sign to a major label, though the band did not achieve commercial success until Seattle contemporaries Nirvana and Pearl Jam popularized grunge in the early 1990s.
